A review by carlylwbug
Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds by Ruth E. van Reken, David C. Pollock

3.0

I sat with my host mom in the car on our way to pick up my host sister and cousin from their extra lesson, when she brought up the topic of this book. Third Culture Kids. Children who have been raised in cultures different than theirs and their struggles with readjusting to their home culture, host culture, family life, everything.
This book basically describes my oldest host brother in a nutshell. He spent most of his defining years in Cairo at an international school with peers like him and then had to return to the tedious life of immature high school here in Indonesia. My host mom recognizes this and feels sorry for him but can’t entirely sympathize because she spent her entire childhood in Indonesia until she married my host father and was whisked off to see the world, Ukraine, Philippines, Egypt.
To be honest it was hard for me to read this book because 1. It was psychology (very popular among Indonesians but for me it just makes my brain hurt) 2. It was parenting (this book was focused toward the parents of Third Culture Kids).
It made me question whether I wanted to go into the Foreign Service or not. Have to uproot my family every 2-4 years. Is that fair to them? Fair to the children who can’t make friends? Of course my host mother says women should not be diplomats because that means they are *Gasp* single or divorced! Here in Indonesia, weddings and being married is extremely important. The idea of a girl not wanting to get married is taboo. Or the idea of a girl picking a career over marriage.
Overall it wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t very entertaining at the same time. I think I’m not the intended audience for this book, and that’s why it wasn’t entertaining for me. But then most of the books that are my current favorites weren’t probably intended for me to enjoy either. I guess it’s just a matter of taste.